I received my first real wrist based sports device in 2011. A Garmin GPS watch, a gift for my 50th birthday. Since then I've owned a few different sports watches but mainly from 3 different sources, 3 different companies. Those 3 companies listed in the chronological order of my experience are Garmin, Apple and Polar, encompassing various models and products. You can get fantastic reviews on the products from various sources and YouTube videos detailing various experiences but this is not really a review, it's my experience.

Why should my experience, which will quickly roll over into my opinion be important or even valid? Well it shouldn't really but I do have some experience in sports and training that leads me to feel confident in assessing and broadcasting my views.

I started competitive sport at the age of 14, leading to a professional involvement. I ran my first marathon at the age of 22 and I am still going strong.

So that's why I feel I have the right to an opinion.

Back to the near past though.

In 2011 after receiving my first Garmin GPS watch, I found I was using it most of the time although it had no way of getting my heart rate. It was great for running! it measured distances accurately and the Garmin Connect website was excellent, there I was able to view my workouts and the associated data. I ran a few marathons with it and did most of the stuff that I normally did to keep fit and active. Unfortunately round about 2012-2013 I was very busy with work and I also picked up a few annoying injuries, I gained a few kilos and at the end of 2013 I needed a bit of a reset. At the start of 2014 aided by my wife and a personal trainer, I went back to basics. I made a huge effort to regain peak fitness, not an easy task in my early fifties. For that, I decided that employing some tech would help me along. I picked up a Polar HR7 heart rate chest strap to measure my fitness, Polar were very much like Garmin, lots of data that I hoped would help me improve. I upgraded my Garmin watch to a more recent model and along with my HR sensor I became obsessed with the data, recovery stats, recovery load, etc. My running improved and I really felt in control of what was going on.

I began designing my workouts based on heart rate zones so that I could do hit sessions or zone 3 long runs. Why waste your time guessing if what you did was working, when you could use the data the devices were giving you to be a bit more precise. Both Garmin and Polar have very effective ways of presenting that data online. I almost became obsessed with the way that my workouts were going but it seemed like a healthy trend, my weight was well under control and my running times improved. I felt very much supported by the choices I had made regarding my fitness activities.

Then Apple announced they were releasing a smart watch with advanced health monitoring, I was very excited about this. I was an early adopter and I ditched both Polar and Garmin for my Apple Watch with wrist based HR measurements and no GPS. Note that the products have made huge steps forward since then. All Apple watches have a GPS.

It didn't take long for me to realise that although the watch itself was a well designed, easy to use device, the actual fitness data and eco system that it provided were woefully short of anything that I had been previously using. I had no way of seeing my heart rate outside of a squiggly line on my iPhone screen, there were no heart rate zones, no recovery data, everything reset on a weekly basis when my body didn't. In short, the eco system seemed stone age in comparison to what I had been using. I felt thoroughly let down and using the Apple Watch was an obstacle I didn't want to have. After 3 months I ditched the Apple Watch and went back to a simple Garmin tracker that I linked to Polar heart rate sensor chest strap. I immediately felt much better and I was still annoyed that I had lost so much data during the Apple Watch phase. I purchased a second hand Polar v800 GPS ultra watch and loved it. Not one of these devices actually did anything that the Apple Watch could do OUTSIDE of the fitness arena. The Apple Watch had funky apps and notifications that could tell you when your bus hit the right stop. None of them interested me. On the fitness level, to me the Apple Watch was nothing short of a joke. I actually disliked it! I spent the next 5 years using Polar and in that time ran many marathons and ultra marathons, played competitive squash, did boxing sessions and Polar never let me down.

The Apple Watch would continually bomb out on a boxing session because the screen was active, you had to put it in swimming mode to disable the screen. On cold, wet runs in November my jacket would activate the screen and my session would pause. Who wants that when you're out running! Garmin and Polar would make me wait to start a run before the satellites locked in but the Apple Watch went on ahead and after 3 seconds off you went. Sounds great until that half marathon you did registers as 20.99km on the Apple watch. No heart rate zones until 2022, it took them 6 years or so to implement a vital aspect of running. The lack of buttons is very frustrating on the watch, wet, muddy, sticky fingers wont help you stop your outdoor session as you desperately prod the screen with your fingers to no avail. I ripped off my Apple Watch on a few occasions in frustration!

I have been out with 12% battery life on my polar watch and still got a half marathon in, you couldn't do that on the Apple Watch. Tattoo yourself with a reminder to charge your Apple Watch before you plan to run otherwise be prepared to have to wait or leave it behind. I agree that these are things that people might simply accept but actually I couldn't. My expectation differed from that what was offered by the the Apple watch.

All of these things they could fix and probably eventually will fix. They believe that they have created a de-facto standard for sports watches, Apple's CEO, Tim Cook often mentions this or something along those lines at Apple events. Sorry Tim but I don't agree and neither do Garmin or Polar who make products that work a lot better for me. Initially I thought that these companies and others who specialise in this area would be wiped away by the Apple watch. That's not been the case though.

I get the feeling too that a lot of the success of the Apple watch lies in marketing and the smart watch features that the Apple Watch has, the app store is phenomenal and I know that there are a lot of really happy Apple Watch fans who think I am an Apple hater. I can assure them that I am not. My experience is narrow and limited to a certain usage. Perhaps in fairness to the Apple watch, it has somehow bridged the gap between health monitoring and a smart device on your wrist. This article doesn't deal with the smart watch aspects though, merely the sports aspects. It may very well be the case that for a large majority of people, the Apple watch is perfect. That's fine and I don't disagree at all!

I have actually worn both Polar and the Apple Watch at the same time relatively recently and was impressed by how far the Apple Watch has come but there are still a few points that make the next statement still true.

Categorically I would not use an Apple Watch for the sports and activities that I do.

Harsh but true for me.

Want a second opinion

Rant over!

So that's the bit about my opinion covered.

For the last 5 or 6 years I have used a Polar Pacer Pro and a Polar Vantage 2. Both excellent sports watches.

Oh yeah, I don't just run either, that's an important point. I do a lot of other sports stuff, Squash, Boxing, skipping and core sessions.

I recently invested in a Garmin Fenix 7X solar with a battery life of up to a month or so. It' blew my mind!

Harder to set up than Polar but with many more bells and whistles. My lucky daughter gets my Polar.

Like I said it's not a review and my experience would lead me to advising anyone wanting a serious sports watch to go with Garmin or Polar. Actually there are a number of watches that I haven't used that are equally touted for runners, Suunto, Coros being two examples.

So why Polar?

Nice design and very robust.

A no frills eco system and app that captures your data and presents sensible information that will help you reach your goals.

The watches are very straight forward to set up.

Nice komoot map integration so you wont get lost.

Great battery life.

Reliable and quick to record workouts.

Touch screen and buttons. No touch screen on workouts.

For people who need a gentle reminder that they need a day off then the recovery data will tell you to do just that.

Ultra reliable.

Very easy to set up and customise.

So why Garmin?

Nice design and also very robust.

An eco system that covers probably everything you will ever need or even not need when doing workouts.

A bit more of an investment to set up but that's because of the many options.

maps and komoot integration is fantastic. You definitely will not get lost.

Unbelievable battery life.

Reliable and quick to get to workouts.

Touch screen and buttons. No touch screen on workouts.

Just like Polar, the Garmin will monitor your activities to prevent you doing too much.

So why Apple?

A very sleek and nice design

Eco system is getting better, no website as such but the Apple health app collates info along with the Apple fitness app.

Easy to set up.

Outside of fitness the Apple Watch does possibly everything you ever need or do not need in your life.

No komoot map integration but has Apple map integration.

Touch screen interface only with one button that does nothing during workouts.

Poor battery life(compared to the others).

I've never worn an Apple Ultra so many of my complaints may have been fixed although I hear the battery life doesn't warrant it the Ultra title.

One thing I have to say outside of my experience and opinion is that all of the gear mentioned here are of a very high standard. I am being very picky here, as you may have already noticed. I am pretty sure that investing in any one of the products mentioned will be a sound investment. The road to a healthy and happy existence does not lie in the type of watch one owns. Certainly you might find that you can become fit and healthy without a watch! Happy training!